Night at the Museum
by AgeofLoneliness
Summary: With the pressures of school on her shoulders and the nerve wracking attempts in beginning a relationship with the father she's never met, how will Samantha handle her newfound attraction to the Egyptian pharaoh she was hired to guard? [AhkmehrahxOC]
1. Chapter 1

Night at the Museum

 **My first shot at a story for this wonderful film series that I have been enjoying again. This first chapter may be short but it's just to start things off. Story line will eventually follow the first film. Here's hoping you enjoy~**

1.

"Well… it seems you've had quite a few security jobs…" he paused to scan over the paper. "Most recent, uh… two years at the Smithsonian Museum over in Washington."

"That's right, sir."

The woman sitting across from him was relatively young. Twenty two, according to the resume he held in his hand. He looked upon her. She was a stunning woman, tall and slim with milky skin. Her long raven hair cascaded past her shoulders, falling over like a curtain. And her eyes, possibly the lightest shade of blue he had ever seen, so clear and cerulean, as if he were looking into the richest ocean. Very beautiful. Now, he may be an elder man but that didn't mean he couldn't admire an attractive woman when he saw one.

He set the file of paperwork on the desk with a small sigh. "You seem to meet all of the credentials and your experience shows you're more than qualified." His tone told he was enthralled. She wrung her skirt in her hands in an anxious manner. "Does this mean I got the job?"

He sat in silence in which her small smile faltered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off as ambitious." The elderly white haired night guard chuckled. "No, no. That's quite alright." He stood slowly from his seat and reached over the desk for a handshake. "Welcome aboard, Miss Daley."

Her expression brightened, her smile cheerful as she frantically stood in tow with him. She took his outstretched hand. "Thank you, Mr. Fredericks!" He waved her off with a smile and a hoarse laugh. "Oh, please, Mr. Fredericks was my father. I am Cecil."

She repeated his name warmly, adding a, "Call me Sam."

"Welcome aboard then, Sam" Cecil said as he set his hand on her shoulder. "Now, why don't I introduce you to the rest of the family?"

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	2. Chapter 2

Night at the Museum

 **Thanks for the feedback! It seems most of you seem to be enjoying this and that makes me very happy, so please continue to do so. I did my best to make this chapter longer than the first, so here goes. Oh, and I took the liberty of updating the first chapter, no major changes just a bit of tidying up. Feel free to read that as well, see if you can spot what's new. I did also use some lines from the first film, but I am not copying it. Actually this fic is set about a year before the first film. Enjoy this new chapter~ I own NOTHING.  
**

2.

"I'd like you to meet my, uh, two colleagues here." Cecil directed Sam's attention to two elder gentleman behind her. She turned round in her seat. A black gentleman sat motionlessly upon a stool, using his cane for support whilst another lay sprawled on a couch, eyes closed and breathing even.

"Oh, hello" Sam said, her surprise displayed upon her face. "You're so quiet I didn't notice you there. I'm sorry." She stood and approached with Cecil at her side. The darker man stood slowly from his seat with a soft grunt. Sam took his outstretched hand and shook it. "Sam Daley." She flashed a bright friendly smile. "Reginald," his voice was soft and aged, "Welcome to the night guards."

Cecil turned toward the sleeping man. "Gus?" he called, startling the guard from his slumber. "Huh!" grunted the old man, glancing around frantically. "Where is he?" He rose from the couch with a struggle, "I'll beat him with my fist!"

What an angry little man, Sam thought to herself, watching him. She felt Cecil lean in close to her. "Wonderful guard, terrible people skills" he whispered. She nodded to show she understood. "Oh." As Gus closed in, she reached out her hand. "Hi, I'm Sam." The short stocky man completely ignored the friendly gesture and took to simply staring at her with a glare, looking her over.

Feeling uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze, Sam lowered her hand and averted her eyes. "She looks like a weirdy" he said after moments of silence, prodding her with a, "You're not going to cry, are you cupcake?"

Cupcake? Before she could stop herself, the words slipped out. "Such hostility. I thought old people were supposed to be nice and jolly." Uh oh. What was she doing? This wasn't her. Not anymore. She was older now. Older and mature. And this was a job interview! She couldn't be witty and sarcastic!

"What?" Gus sputtered in shock before growling, lips forming a snarl. "Oh, I'm sorry" she said in a mocking manner, "Are you hard of hearing?" Sam! She screamed internally, stop it!

Gus shot her a pointed glare. "Now listen here lunch box, don't try anything funny. I once went nine rounds with John L. Sullivan!"

"Oh, I'm real scared now." Stop it, Sam!

"You never fought John L. Sullivan in your life" Reginald stepped in.

"Gentlemen, please" Cecil spoke. "We have a job candidate here."

"Who?" Gus said abruptly, "Her?" His laugh was derisive. "She couldn't handle it."

"Oh, really?" She stepped up in challenge. Oh my god, Sam, no! "Try me, you angry little hobbit." Ugh, you might as well kiss this job goodbye!

Gus muttered angrily under his breath, shooting her a heated pointed glare, one she returned. Cecil chuckled enthusiastically, his hand settling on Sam's shoulder. "My, you're quite a little spitfire. It sure is going to be fun having you around."

"What?" she questioned, looking up at Cecil with an expression of disbelief. "I… got the job?"

"But of course," said Cecil, "Now, I'd like you to meet me out in the lobby. I'll slip into my orthopedics and give you a little tour of the place."

"Orthopedics?" queried Sam. He smiled and beckoned toward his legs. "Arthritic knees." He leaned in close. "Not fun getting old, my friend." He gestured her forward. "Go on, now."

"O...kay" Sam said with slight hesitance.

The trio of night watchmen watched her go. "I don't like her!" Gus exclaimed once he was sure she was out of earshot. "Oh, come on Gus" said Cecil, "She's got an excellent resume, a winning attitude, and I say let's give her a shot."

"And I say we should send her packing!"

Cecil sighed at Gus' comment, turning to look at Reginald. "As usual Reginald, you have the last say." He patiently waited whilst Gus glared. "I like her" Reginald said moments later. Immediately Gus displayed his disapproval with a grumble as Cecil said, "Well, that's that."

Sam gazed upon the beauteous and grandiose museum, looking upon the exquisite wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt, switching to the skeletal remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and finally settling onto the small map in her hands, studying and memorizing the names of the rest of the exhibits and their locations. She leaned casually against a wall and hummed the tune of Earth, Wind, and Fire's, 1978's hit, September. "Ba de ya, say do you remember, ba de ya, dancing in September, ba de ya - never was a cloudy day."

The Smithsonian was known as the largest museum in the world, built of nineteen different museums, each filled with three to four floors of exhibits. According to this map, the Museum of Natural History was only three floors, excluding the basement and garage, in one large building. She sighed in relief. It was sure to be a definite nice change of pace.

"Excuse me."

Sam glanced up from the map at the sudden feminine voice. A woman, one with dark hair and eyes the lightest shade of green, stood before her. "Are you lost?" she queried. "No," Sam began with a shake of her head, "I'm waiting for-"

"Oh, there you are Samantha."

Both she and the woman turned heads. "Cecil" Sam finished as the elder night guard stepped into the front lobby. The woman flashed a friendly smile, greeting him warmly. "Hello, Cecil." He stopped before them and acknowledged her with a curt nod. "Rebecca. How are you?"

"Good. Thank you."

"That's very good." Cecil glanced at Sam. "This here is, uh, Samantha Daley, my newest associate." He set his hand upon her shoulder. Rebecca shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." Sam offered a modest smile. "You too, Ms.…."

"Oh, uh, Rebecca" she said quickly, "Rebecca Hutman. I'm a docent here at the museum. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier."

"Oh, no need for apologies" Sam dismissed.

Glancing to his watch, Cecil spoke up, "Ladies, I'm sorry" he interjected, "I hate to interrupt but I'm afraid there's still so much to show and so little time." Rebecca's nod was curt. "Oh, of course, go right ahead."

"Have a good day" Cecil bid farewell and led Sam away. "I-it was nice meeting you, Rebecca" she called back over her shoulder. She followed Cecil, starting up a conversation with, "So, Cecil, have you worked here long?"

"Oh, too long" he replied with a chortle. "Far too long."

Sam's chuckle was meek. "Oh, really?"

"Indeed" he assured. "A little over thirty years, give or take."

"Wow" said Sam. "That's pretty impressive. You must really like this job if you've stayed this long."

"It has its perks." He gave another chuckle, one different in the way that it sounded a bit… knowing. As if there was something he knew of the place and wasn't telling. Odd, Sam mused.

Rounding the corner and down the hall, Cecil was quick, walking in long strides. "Gotta keep it moving Sam, I'm pretty spry for an old man" he called as Sam fell behind. "I can see that" she tittered, "Those orthopedics are something else." She followed him into a spherical room, displaying environmental scenes of Rome, the Old West, and settlements of the Mayans. Or was it Aztec? Sam had never been good with history. "This is the, uh, diorama room" said Cecil.

"Neat" reciprocated Sam, stopping to gaze upon the statuettes of different colonies, all posed in different positions, showing the world how life once was. The detail was quite exquisite. Not just of the figurines but the models of the buildings as well. The likeness and décor of the exhibits was pristine.

She glanced up in a double back, realizing the old man had gone. She frowned, puzzled. She was alone in the wide room. When had he even left? "Cecil?" she called, exiting the room to enter another empty hall. "Hey, Cecil?"

The lights switching off caused her to stir, an odd feeling of wariness creeping up her spine. Her eyes searched the vicinity, "Cecil?" She inched forward, passing an exhibit of African Witch Doctors. "Cecil?" She startled from the sudden yell and grip on her shoulder, spinning around and striking a masked being square in the face with a haymaker.

Said being dropped like a sack of potatoes and seconds after, it groaned and removed the mask. "Oh my god, Cecil!" Sam exclaimed in horror. She rushed to his aid, helping him sit up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- I didn't know- oh, gosh, I'm sorry!" her voiced filled with panic.

"Oh," he exhaled, "That's a- a heck of a punch you got there."

"I'm sorry" Sam apologized, "I-it was an accident, a- a reflex, please don't fire me!" Her voice changed from panic to pleading. Cecil warmly laughed as he clambered to his feet with Sam's help. "Not to worry, Samantha. It was my fault." He straightened himself up. "No harm done." He released a short breath of air. "It's good to have quick instincts." His tone changed then, the jest lost and replaced with solemn. "Seriously though, no fooling around in here. This stuff is really old."

He bent to retrieve the fallen mask and staff she hadn't noticed before. He removed the colorful yellow robe and tossed it all into the exhibit. He then clapped his hands together and said, "Moving on!" Sam watched him trek forward, speechless. "Chop, chop, Samantha!" he called in the distance. "Alright, then" she said aloud before rushing forward.

Cecil led her up. "As you can see," he began mid ascendance, "It's pretty quiet in here these days, has been for a while." He added a quick, "On your left there is your Attila the Hun." Sam quickly and quietly glanced to the Asian statue as she set foot on the second floor. "And here we have our Easter Island Head" Cecil spoke without pause, moving fast. "And of course, the hall of African Mammals."

Sam looked on at the beauty of the room and the life like animals strewn all about. "Oh," she sighed in awe, "They look so real."

"You haven't seen anything yet" Cecil spoke softly in which Sam gave him a curious look. What did that mean? Again she felt the strange feeling that Cecil knew something she didn't. He avoided her gaze, looking anywhere but her direction. "Moving on" he announced.

They entered a dark corridor, a network of shadows.

Passing a variation of antique artifacts and statues, some of gods and some of goddesses and some even of cats, Sam came to realize they had come to the Egyptian segment. The room they arrived to, like the hall, was dark and rather large, the largest in the museum.

"And finally," Cecil spoke, "this is the temple of the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah." He clicked on his flashlight, shining it down the room. Sam gazed upon the twenty foot jackals, posed to stand guard at the entrance, her eyes glancing over the hieroglyphics adorning the walls and pillars. "And in that, uh, tomb right down there… the Pharaoh himself" Cecil continued, leading the way in and toward the crypt. "And hanging on the wall behind him was his most prized possession… the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. Twenty four-karat gold. It's worth a fortune."

Huh, Sam pondered, why would that be important? She watched him from the corner of her eye. He seemed genuinely interested in the tablet. Almost absorbed as he stared intently. Strange, she mused and spoke a terse, "Cool."

Cecil broke his fixated gaze on the table to look upon her. "It is indeed, Sam. Very cool." With a quick exhale, he turned round. "All right," he began as he walked forward, his steps echoing off the walls. "Report here at five tomorrow. We'll walk you through your duties."

"Five o' clock" said Sam, "Understood."

"Well," Cecil sighed, "I'm afraid we've run out of time. Come tomorrow I'll show you the third floor. It's been a pleasure." Sam took his outstretched hand firmly and shook it. "Will do. See you tomorrow." She flashed a quick smile and walked off, eager to head home and tell Danny of the good news.

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End file.
